Can a Consultant also Certify Us?

The roles of ISO 9001 consultants and the role of ISO 9001 certifiers (also called auditors or registrars) are separate and different.

What Do Consultants Do?

Consultants such as Mapwright (my company) help and advise you. We work with you so that you understand what is required and then on what is needed for your quality system to reach the required level.

Consultants do:

Prepare and coach you

Help you get your system ready

Advise where you have gaps (a gap analysis); explain and show you how to fix the gaps, or even do it for you

Advise, teach and guide you throughout the process

Explain how to meet the various requirements. We can also do internal audits for you (a requirement before your external audit).

Consultants do not:

Do any external audit for certification purposes.

Award certificates to ISO 9001 or any other standard.

What Do Certifiers Do?

The certifier is the company / organisation who sends suitable auditor/s to do the certification audit, and has the proper accreditation to issue you with a valid certificate if your auditor agrees you meet the requiremnts.

Think of a consultant as being like a coach, where the auditor is the examiner.

Can't they be the same company or organisation? No, they absolutely cannot. Apart from anything else, it would be a complete conflict of interest for the same company to help you on the one hand, and certify you on the other. Not right and not permitted.

Auditors work for certifiers: the companies who award the certificates. Certifiers are private organisations (not government bodies) who are accredited to award certificates and are service providers. In Australia, they're usually called 'certifiers', whereas in the USA they are often called 'registrars' or CBs (certifying bodies).
Only properly accredited certifiers can award certificates to an ISO Standard. For example, in Australia, all certifiers must be accredited via JAS-ANZ.

Is a consultant worth it? I think so (but of course I may have some bias here) A good consultant will add enormous value. Because of our knowledge, skills and experience, we can guide you and shorten the whole process. And make your quality system work more effectively and efficiently. We'll save you time and money. We will make sure you avoid the most common mistakes. And a good consultant will make sure you get a system that suits you, not just impose something on you 'to get ISO certified'.
Ultimately only you can decide whether it's worth it, because it's your company, your time and your money. But do take care in selecting a consultant because it's an important decision. And just because someone takes on the title of consultant does not mean that they should, or that they are any good at it.

What they do:

Belong to the International Accreditation Forum and hold the proper accreditation

Perform third party, independent audits of management systems

Decide if your system meets all the requirements of (complies with) the relevant Standard. If so, recommend that a certificate be awarded.

Issue the certificate.

Return and re-audit your system at intervals to make sure it remains compliant.

Withdraw certification when a client either cancels it or flagrantly breaches mandatory requirements over an extended period.

What they don't do:

Coach, help you prepare, give advice, tell you what to do or explain how to 'pass'. That is consulting and they are prohibited from doing it; apart from other issues, it would be an obvious conflict of interest.
But good auditors understand they are specialised providers of services and take a 'business partner' approach, aiming to help and provide value through audits of their clients, rather than act like a quality cop or inspector.

Are all Certifiers the Same?

No, definitely not.
Yes, all assess you against the same Standard, and follow a similar process. But there are differences between them, so take your time to choose. Work out what you need first, ask questions and choose the one you think will best suit your business and your needs.

Is a consultant worth it?

We think so (but of course there may be some bias there) A good consultant will add enormous value. Because of our knowledge, skills and experience, we can guide you and shorten the whole process. And make your quality system work more effectively and efficiently. We'll save you time and money. We will make sure you avoid the most common mistakes. And a good consultant will make sure you get a system that suits you, not just impose something on you 'to get ISO certified'.

Ultimately only you can decide whether it's worth it, because it's your company, your time and your money. But do take care in selecting a consultant because it's an important decision. And just because someone takes on the title of consultant does not mean that they should, or that they are any good at it.